The process of miniaturization of electronic components has led to an ever increasing density of the electrical terminals which carry power and signal voltage levels between the circuits of such components. Packaging, which features an interconnection of intercomponents through rigid or flexible printed circuit boards, finds arrays of electrical terminals mounted in rows on centers of 1 mm or less. Connectors utilized to provide interconnections thus require terminals to be mounted on such spacings, and the characteristics of such connectors utilizing contact posts that are inserted in the holes in printed circuit boards or the like can make assembly tedious, difficult, and costly.
One approach to solving this problem has been the utilization of guide members of insulating material having on one side apertures aligned with the holes in a printed circuit board or the like, and on the other side, holes or surfaces tapered to facilitate the insertion of the ends of terminals, posts, or the like, into the guide member to facilitate mounting of a connector on a printed circuit board with the terminals properly aligned for subsequent solder. The foregoing problem is particularly found with the fragile terminal posts necessary to have the close centers above-mentioned, and also with respect to the so called right angle connectors where the terminals are bent essentially at right angles to be inserted in the printed circuit board. A related problem has to do with the use of terminals in a connector having spacings to suit a particular miniaturization for intermating with mating connectors and also having to mate with printed circuit boards having holes on different spacings.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector of the type having closely spaced terminals to provide a high density interconnection to other mating connectors and also to printed circuit boards and the like. It is a further object of the invention to provide an electrical connector of the high density type wherein terminal ends on given centers can be guided through the provision of a guide member to different centers. Still a further object is to provide a connector, including a guide member facilitating the insertion of terminals having ends varying in center spacing through guiding such ends into precise spacing for mounting on printed circuit boards. A final object is to provide an electrical connector facilitating the ready assembly of a high density array of terminals onto a printed circuit board.